The invention relates to a closing device for an essentially box or shell-shaped housing that can be closed by a housing cover for accommodating objects, particularly an air filter housing for a motor vehicle or the like, displaying a housing edge with a seal, onto which the housing cover connectable to the housing can be placed.
The air filter housing accommodates an air filter and is provided with the necessary feed and discharge lines. Mounted on the edge, between the housing cover and the housing, is a rubber seal, which is preferably designed as a sealing ring in order to achieve a tight fit between the air filter housing and the housing cover when the housing cover is in place.
It is familiar practice for securing the housing cover on the housing to use several clamps, screws, plastic clips or the like as connectors distributed around the circumference, in order to obtain a tight connection between the two components. The connectors have to be mounted individually in a time-consuming process during assembly. The clips or clamps, which are preferably made of plastic, can snap off and may then have to be replaced. Screws first have to be positioned and then screwed in using a tool. All these types of connectors can be dropped during assembly and have to be picked up, this not being possible without further ado in an automated process. In any case, several manual operations are necessary in order to implement the circumferential fastening necessary for a tight connection. On the whole, assembly is very time-consuming when using any of the fastening methods familiar from the prior art. In addition, tools are necessary, which may also be dropped.